A building permit filed on behalf of Walmart and Wing seeks to convert parking spaces at the Walmart Supercenter at 1965 S. Union Ave. in Tacoma into a drone delivery hub, a proposal for a drone-delivery project in Western Washington. The permit describes installation of fencing and storage equipment to support drone delivery operations at the existing store, and it is currently moving through the city's screening and intake process.
The filing was first reported by KOMO News, which noted that Tacoma city officials said they were not aware of any retail drone restrictions currently on the books within the city. Under the proposed setup, Walmart customers would order deliveries through the Wing app and could set a precise delivery location on their own property, according to the station's report. Wing's delivery drones travel at about 65 miles per hour and descend to roughly 20 feet before lowering packages with a tether that automatically releases once the package touches the ground, the outlet reported.
How Tacoma Residents Are Reacting
Reaction among Tacoma residents quoted in the report was mixed. Joshua Layno said drone delivery would be convenient for quick purchases, while Austin Aleshire said he is not a huge fan of the idea, citing worries about possible crashes, lost packages, or theft, per the same account. Walmart and Wing declined further comment on the Tacoma project when reached by the station.
Wing's delivery drones are authorized under an FAA air carrier certificate for commercial cargo and passenger deliveries, the company said, and must comply with federal regulations. That certificate, according to Wing, was originally awarded in April 2019 as the first commercial drone airline approval in the U.S. and permits autonomous beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights within roughly a 6-mile radius of participating stores. Wing has also said its delivery packaging is approved to prevent movement or damage and is verified for weight requirements before flight.
What the Physical Changes Would Look Like
An Oceanside proposal would convert 28 parking spaces to accommodate 12 pads, an 8-foot security fence, a temporary equipment storage container, and battery supply. AVweb, citing FAA draft environmental assessment filings, documented Wing's proposed Houston operations, not the Oceanside proposal. The Oceanside filings indicate Wing's commercial delivery drones cruise at speeds up to 60 mph between 150 and 300 feet above ground level, carrying packages weighing up to 5 pounds before hovering to lower orders via tether. The Clermont proposal required municipal variances for fence height and temporary storage, while the Oceanside filing involved a conditional-use permit and environmental review, according to an Oceanside filing and a Clermont zoning request.
Part of a Fast-Growing National Rollout
The Tacoma filing lands as Walmart and Wing scale their partnership at a rapid clip nationally. Walmart announced in May 2026 that it had surpassed 1 million commercial drone deliveries, with 40% of those completed in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2027, according to Walmart Corporate. Walmart says the average delivery time is 23 minutes from order placement, with the fastest recorded delivery arriving in 4 minutes and 44 seconds.
The following month, Walmart and Wing announced plans to bring drone delivery to seven new major metropolitan areas — including San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Memphis, and New Orleans — bringing their combined service footprint to nearly 20 U.S. markets, as reported by Supply Chain Dive. The overall national goal for the partnership is to deploy drone delivery hubs at more than 270 Walmart stores across the country, reaching over 40 million residents by 2027, according to FLYING Magazine.
Regulation Still Catching Up, Competition Heats Up
The Federal Aviation Administration is meanwhile advancing a proposed rule known as Part 108, designed to establish a standardized federal framework for routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight commercial drone operations nationwide without requiring individual waivers for each project, according to AirData. That shift would replace the current patchwork of case-by-case FAA exemptions with permanent operational categories.
Walmart is not alone in racing to build out drone infrastructure. Amazon Prime Air announced in August 2026 plans to expand 30-minute drone delivery to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year, according to FreightWaves, underscoring the intensifying competition between retail giants for last-mile delivery dominance. For now, the Tacoma permit remains under city review, with no timeline yet confirmed for when — or whether — drones might begin lifting off from the Union Avenue parking lot.
